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Charmaine Brown Herald Reporter

Over 100 people attending the Zimbabwe Agriculture Show have undergone free HIV/AIDS testing and cancer screening, the National Aids Council (NAC) has revealed.

NAC is offering the services as part of its plan to end Aids by 2030, in line with the country’s mission of “leaving no one behind”.

Speaking from the NAC stand where young people from different provinces were undergoing HIV/AIDS testing and cancer screening, NAC provincial manager for Harare Mr Adonija Muzondiona said the initiative was meant to help young people know their status at an early stage.

“So far over 100 people have been tested for HIV/AIDS and have gone for cancer screening, which is part of our 2030 plan,” he said.

“We are expecting about 300 people to get tested and screened for cancer by the end of this show. We want people who bring a yield of positivity and those people will be given counselling and other services, including medical, after they get tested and it will be depending with their status.”

Mr Muzondiona said they will continue mobilising young people to get tested as a way of curbing HIV infections in the country.

“We will continue mobilising the young people, both male and female, to get tested as a way of reducing HIV infections in the country and we also urge everyone to play their part in fighting against HIV,” he said.

Zimbabwe recorded a decrease in new HIV infections from 44 000 to 38 000                       cases annually, a development which UNAIDS projects may lead to a decline in prevalence.